It is well known to provide protective covers for the striking heads of golf clubs to prevent damage to or by the club head. Such damage may occur, for example, by the clubs scratching or banging together, through the constant removal and replacement of other clubs, or by oxidation due to exposure to water. While putter covers in general are known, there is a need for an improved putter cover due to the drawbacks and disadvantages of the known putter covers as discussed below.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,129 issued to Freiberg discloses a putter cover constructed of a non-elastic material such as leather, vinyl or the like. The putter cover is constructed by joining two pieces of material along a top and side edges 14, 16 and 18)and partially joining the pieces along a bottom edge to form an opening 26. Since the material is non-elastic, a large opening must be formed to accommodate the putter as it is inserted, increasing the susceptibility of the putter to oxidation, e.g. due to the intrusion of water. Moreover, due to the nature of the putter cover construction, the visibility of any printed matter that may have been placed on the cover is reduced. Other embodiments are described (FIGS. 3-4) one of which discloses folding one side edge. However, these embodiments both describe open (unjoined edges) which are contrary to certain aspects of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,167 issued to Banas describes a putter cover formed from a single piece of elastic material which requires multiple folds and multiple stitching steps. By folding and stitching the material, an undesirable double thickness of material is provided in certain regions, resulting in an unnecessary waste of material and space. Moreover, the manufacturing process requires additional steps (folding and stitching) adding time and cost thereto. Like Freiberg, the opening in the putter cover is formed by only partially stitching opposing sides along one edge thereby leaving a relatively large opening. Also like Freiberg, this construction reduces the visibility of any printed matter on the putter cover. Moreover, while the elastic nature of the material may allow the putter cover to be reversed (if desired), such reversal would result in an uneven appearance to the putter cover due to the double thickness regions normally hidden within the cover. Reversal would also interfere with the insertion of the putter due to the tabs or loops (29) normally on the exterior of the putter cover.
Covers for other types of golf clubs are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/735,915 referenced above.
In view of the foregoing, it is readily apparent that the prior art putter covers have various drawbacks which are obviously undesirable.